


Rival AU

by Dramaticdragon



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Rival AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-07
Updated: 2016-04-17
Packaged: 2018-05-31 21:16:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6487678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dramaticdragon/pseuds/Dramaticdragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if, instead of a tag-team, Ladybug and Chat Noir were rivals heroes, racing to save the day and be the hero?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based on tumblr post from Dramaticdragon (me): http://dramaticdragon.tumblr.com/post/142369755494/miraculous-rival-au

 

                The city of Paris was known for many things. It’s monuments, the romance, the food, but mostly for its two biggest heroes: Ladybug and Chat Noir. Whenever a citizen of Paris became overwhelmed with any type of negative emotion, they could be possessed with a creature called an akuma and become a super villain. Thus, Ladybug and Chat Noir would come to save the day and purify the akuma.

                But here’s the catch: Ladybug and Chat Noir aren’t on the same team. Never in the history of Paris has there ever been a more fierce rivalry than that of Ladybug and Chat Noir. As soon as an akuma arises, it’s a race to save the day, and be the hero. Both have the ability to purify akumas, and both have a strong passion to save the day. No one knows _how_ the rivalry began, but most people simply assumed it always was and always will be. Besides, good luck and bad luck could _never_ be a team.

                Now, that’s not to say Ladybug and Chat Noir are _against_ each other. They make no efforts to injure the other in their attempts to be the hero. In fact, it’s not unheard of for one to apologize to the other if they accidentally hurt the other. No one likes apologizing to their rival, but they aren’t cruel.

                The rivalry of the fans was almost as fierce as the heroes themselves. The fans of Ladybug, called Littlebugs, were against the fans of Chat Noir, called Kitties. Alya was a staple of the Littlebugs, who ran the Ladyblog, which stared Ladybug with every post. There wasn’t a blog as strong for Chat Noir, but Nino made a small blog for him just to jokingly spite Alya.

                And of course, the real Ladybug and Chat Noir were strong in their team pride. Marinette, who was secretly Ladybug, gladly supported Alya’s blog and agreed that Ladybug was, in fact, the best. Meanwhile, Adrien firmly believed that Chat Noir was _way_ cooler and better for Paris. But of course, no one ever knew their identities, and to the rest of the world they just looked like normal fans.

                The real fun starts when they start to become friends…  


	2. Almost Perfect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette dreams over her perfect boy, only to discover he might not be too perfect after all.

 

                Marinette sat quietly in class, occasionally writing some bullet points for the important things the teacher was saying. She already read the chapter, so she basically knew it already, and it was more of a review class than anything else. Which gave her the perfect opportunity to stare at the lovely specimen before her: Adrien Agreste.

                Adrien was the closest thing a living being could be to perfection, at least to Marinette. He was sweet, kind, considerate, patient, funny, and of course very handsome. He was a model for a reason, after all. Added bonus was that his father was more-or-less one of Marinette’s idols, since she too was trying to work in the fashion industry. He was basically her dream boy. As far as she knew, he _had_ no flaws.

                “Alright, class,” The teacher began, cutting off Marinette’s daydreams, “That’s all for this lecture. I hope you took good notes, because this will be on the test.”

                Marinette glanced down at her half empty paper and sighed. She could probably wing it, right?

                “Hey, Marinette, check this out!” Alya chimed, already in ‘hang out after class’ mode.

                She quickly reached into her purse and grabbed her phone, shoving the image on it in Marinette’s face.

                -- _Ladybug does it again! That’s the third akuma in a row that she’s purified, giving the Team Ladybug a huge boost!—_

Below the bright headline was a picture of Ladybug in the motions of purification, grinning with pride at her victory.

                “I’m telling you, Mari,” Alya rambled proudly, as if she herself were Ladybug, “She’s the best! Chat Noir’s got nothing on her!”

                “Hey now,” Nino interrupted, turning around with a smirk, “I’ll have you know my man Chat Noir had a disadvantage during that last battle! Half of it was in the air, and Ladybug can fly up with her yo-yo! It’s not Chat’s fault he’s stuck on the ground!”

                Marinette noticed Adrien nodding in agreement, and she felt a little part of her rear up in frustration.

                “Still, a win is a win, no matter how she got it,” Alya shrugged jokingly, shoving the phone in Nino’s face.

                “The real _‘win’_ is saving Paris,” Marinette reminded Alya. It was true, after all. Even though she was certainly proud to beat Chat to the punch, they did both share the same end-goal.

                “Yeah, but c’mon Marinette, Ladybug still won.” Alya laughed, causing Marinette to giggle with her.

                Oh, who was she kidding, it felt great to beat that sorry cat to victory.

                “So, Adrien,” Alya started, now facing Adrien. This got Marinette’s attention quickly, “Which team are you on? You’re totally a Littlebug, right?”

                Marinette felt like her insides her inflating like balloons. Adrien _must_ be on team Ladybug! He was so kind and sweet, surely he wouldn’t root for a jokester like Chat! And that meant that he was rooting for Ladybug, who was Marinette! So by continuation, he was on Team Marinette!

                “Oh, actually, I’m way on team Chat.”

                Suddenly, those inside-balloons started to pop.

                So… Dear, sweet, perfect Adrien… Was a _Kitten_?!

                The perfect boy Marinette had come to idolize, to nearly worship, to dream of _marrying_ \- he was on team Chat?!? How?! How on earth could such a perfect person be on such a… such a _lame_ team?!

                “Are you really?” Marinette asked, before she could even realize it.

                “Oh yeah. Chat Noir is super awesome.”

                _Why are you like this?_

Okay… Well… One flaw can’t be _that_ bad, he’s still _almost_ perfect… But that one flaw is just so, so jarring…

                _We’ll just have to work on that when we get married_ , Marinette decided to herself. She would forgive him, he was young and innocent, he didn’t know how wrong he was. Marinette would just have to show him the light.

                Suddenly, a huge crash was heard a few rooms down, and an alarm went off immediately afterwards. Looks like another akuma came up… At least class ended.

                But as she ran out of the room to ‘evacuate’ with the rest of the class, she realized something: Maybe Marinette didn’t have to be the one to show Adrien how amazing Ladybug is! Maybe Ladybug herself could do it!

  * \-     -



“Bye bye, little butterfly,” Chat grinned, standing on the roof of the school, palm open as a now-white butterfly flew out.

“Looks like your win-steaks over, Bugaboo,” He smirked, using the nickname that he _knew_ infuriated Ladybug.

                “Don’t get too cocky, Chat,” Ladybug shot back, “I took it easy on you this time. I felt bad, after all.”

                “I don’t need your pity to be better than you,” He shot back.

                Before Ladybug could retort, she heard her earrings beep a warning. She had used her Lucky Charm, and now she needed to leave.

                “I’ll see you around, Ms. Pity,” Chat waved, using his staff to catapult himself off of the roof.

                Ladybug growled to herself, and left as well. Maybe this one battle wasn’t her best… She hoped Adrien had already evacuated before Chat beat her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is this considered Ladrien? lol hope you enjoyed


	3. Evillistrator

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat Noir fights the Evillistrator and tries to win over some friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is that how you spell Evillistrator? I've seen it like 50 different ways whoops. Enjoy!

 

                Adrien sighed to himself, glancing from his notebook to the chalkboard. He was torn.

                He really liked Marinette. She was nice and sweet, even if she was a little shy and weird around him. He saw her around the others, and he knew how smart and kind she could be. She seemed like an amazing friend, and he really wanted to get to know her better. But at the same time, she always seemed so nervous around him. He didn’t know if he had done something to upset her, or maybe scare her, or whatever he did to make her act so strangely. It just felt like there was this… this barrier between them!

                Suddenly, a loud thud interrupted his thoughts. Quickly looking to his side, Adrien saw poor Nathanael flat on the floor, drawings scattered all over next to him. He heard Chloe say some rude remark about him, or his drawings, but Adrien really wasn’t listening. He just felt bad that Nathanael tripped and embarrassed himself.

                As he watched Nathanael leave the room, head down, Adrien wondered if _he_ might become akumatized. From what he’s seen so far, Nathanael was both shy and emotional, two very easily attacked traits. But all seemed quiet so far, so Adrien just shrugged it off and continued with his notes.

                After class, Adrien made his way to the library. He was paired with Nino and Alya to do his science project, which he was super grateful for. He liked both Nino _and_ Alya! This was going to be a great project! He offered to go to the library to pick up some books to help.

                He glanced over to his side, where the library tables were, and saw Chloe, Sabrina, and Marinette. He knew Marinette and Chloe didn’t get along well, so he felt bad for both of them. Guess not everyone can be matched up with great friends. Still, she seemed pretty focused. Although she might be more focused on ignoring Chloe than her work.

                Hmm… She looked pretty cool when she was so focused like that. He had gotten so used to seeing her flustered that seeing her in the ‘zone’ was even cooler.

                His slightly unintentional staring was interrupted by… a huge hair dryer?

                Oh, right. Akuma.

                Without a moments doubt, Adrien took the opportunity to transform. This was going to be great! He’ll capture that akuma before Ladybug even _shows up_!

                “Hiyaa!” An all-too-familiar feminine voice hollered.

                _What the heck?!_

                “How did she get here that fast? That was supposed to be _my_ advantage!” Adrien- now Chat Noir- growled to himself, jumping up on top of the bookshelf.

                While Ladybug was fighting the giant hair dryer, Chat took the opportunity to run around the second floor, trying to locate the akumatied villain. Unfortunately, the villain saw him first, and trapped him in a giant, clear box. By the time Chat figured out how to escape, the villain was gone. He heard it say something about “Evillistrator”, so Chat assumed that was his name now. Tacky, but still kinda funny.

                “Chat!” Ladybug called, jumping up to the second floor.

                “Finally realized you need my help?” Chat replied immediately, crossing his arms smugly.

                “No!” Ladybug huffed loudly, “The Evillistrator is going after Chloe- uh, that blond girl he attacked earlier. I don’t care much about _you_ , but I do care about the people of Paris. Understood?”

                He nodded, but never removed his cocky smirk. Every now and then, when an akuma was targeting one single person instead of just the entire city, they would let the other know. As important as being the better one was, protecting Paris was still their priority. But that doesn’t mean they won’t insult each other the whole way to Chloe’s house- which they did.

                Not even half an hour of being in Chloe’s house, Ladybug was getting fed up.

                “Worried your little stake-out won’t work, Little Lady?” Chat teased, sitting on top of one of the couches.

                “No, I’m worried that my head will explode if I have to listen to you _yap_ any longer!” Ladybug shot back. It was true, but only a half truth. Even _Chat Noir_ didn’t annoy her as much as Chloe, but she wasn’t just going to say that in front of them all.

                “It’s alright, I’d get jealous, too, if I was competing against someone better than me.”

                That was the last straw. With a loud shout of something along the lines of “do it yourself,” Ladybug burst out the window. Chat grinned proudly. Maybe today _would_ be a great day after all. He’s going to get the akuma all by himself, because Ladybug’s a _quitter!_

                “Ladybug, don’t go!” Chloe whined, racing to the window.

                “Don’t worry, I’m the stronger one anyway,” Chat smirked proudly. He knew Chloe was on team Ladybug, but maybe saving her life like the hero he was would convince her otherwise.

                Unfortunately, the stake-out idea actually wasn’t working as well as he’d thought. As much as he’d like to blame Ladybug for it- which he would- it was still partially his idea. When the sun started to set, he assumed that maybe the Evillistrator had gotten a new victim to chase. He checked online many times throughout his stake-out to see if there were any videos of the akuma being spotted, but it was all silent. Worst case scenario was that Ladybug found him and purified him, but there was nothing on the Ladyblog about purification since last week. Can akumas just… give up?

                “Hey, Chloe.” Chat started, walking towards the window, “I’m going to go head out, maybe find the akuma if I can. You seem pretty safe here.”

                “Oh, but, but I need protection! What if that beast tries to hurt me, or my hair!” She whined, but he was already out the window before she even finished.

                It was pretty late in the evening by now. Most people were starting to head inside, and the streets were quieting down. It would be a perfect opportunity for Chat to patrol and try to locate the akuma.

                Almost an hour into his ‘patrol’, Chat made his way to the river. All of the sudden, he noticed one boat in particular was well lit and- and suddenly becoming even _more_ well lit? Did lights just fall out of the sky like that?

                Racing over, Chat figured out that the akuma had this ability to just _make_ things. A pretty cool ability, if he could say so. But Chat wasn’t worried. If the akuma could make things, his cataclysm could _destroy_ things.

                But his proud bragging was halted when he saw who else was on the boat with the Evillistrator- It was _Marinette!_

                For a moment there, Chat was suddenly worried. Had the Evillistrator given up on Chloe and was trying to attack Marinette?! But his panic was calmed when he noticed that the akuma wasn’t drawing cages or weapons for Marinette, but rather more lights and a miniature Eiffel Tower. Was this… a date?

                Oh! Right! This akuma is from Nathanael! Wasn’t Chloe making fun of Nathanael for doodling him and Marinette? This must have been part of his plan, to capture Marinette for a ‘date’!

                And where was Ladybug, hm? Nowhere to be seen!

                Chat grinned to himself. This would be the perfect chance to save the day, purify the akuma, _and_ show Marinette just how cool Chat Noir is!

                As silent as a mouse, Chat jumped on the boat and hid behind the bench. He couldn’t hear everything they were saying, but he could figure out most of it. He figured out that it was that magic tablet that produced whatever the Evillistrator drew. Suddenly, he saw Marinette offer to draw him something.

                She must have figured it out, too! Chat knew how smart she was, and he just knew she had to have figured it out!

                But in his excitement to grab the pen, he caused one of the boards beneath him to creak loudly. Suddenly, the Evillistrator wasn’t so happy anymore.

                On instinct, Chat rushed forward to grab Marinette, and protect her in case the Evillistrator got any funny ideas.

                “You’re working with _him!”_ He shouted angrily, suddenly creating another clear box, trapping them in.

                “No, wait, Nathanael!” Marinette cried, rushing to the wall of the box. But her pleas were silenced as the boat shook, because a huge chunk of the sides were becoming _erased_.

                Before Marinette could even call out to the akuma again, he was gone. Out of the corner of his eye, Chat noticed Marinette make an extremely frustrated face. Why was she so upset? Surely she was captured by the Evillistrator and forced to do this ‘date’ with him, why was she so bothered by it ending?

                “Don’t worry, Princess, I’ll save you,” Chat smirked, pulling out his staff. This would be so great, Marinette will _totally_ be on team Chat once he saves her life!

                However, he couldn’t quite figure out how to get them out of the quickly sinking box…

                As he kept hitting the sides with his staff, Marinette swiftly grabbed the staff, holding it upright, and extended it. The staff edge pushed the box upwards, giving them room to crawl out.

                They quickly made their way back on land, and Chat stood up straight.

                “Glad you’re safe, citizen,” He grinned, proud of his own plan, “I need to go capture the akuma, but you can thank me later.”

                And with that, he was off. If he hadn’t been complimenting himself in his head, he would have heard a few muttered insults coming from behind him.

                As he expected, the akuma was going back to its first victim- Chloe. But about as soon as the destruction of her house started, Chat Noir was there as well. Unfortunately, so was Ladybug.

                “Nice to see you decided to be a hero again, Ladybug.” Chat teased, blocking some of the Evillistrators shots.

                “I had another mission of my own, but it was messed up by another idiot I know,” She explained, more complaining to herself than actually explaining, however.

                “Well, you don’t have to worry about any of that anymore,” Chat laughed, getting closer to the akuma, “I can handle this all on my own.”

                Well, maybe he can’t.

                A giant chain-and-ball around your ankle and a huge hole in the ground _might_ be when someone needs help.

                “Lucky Charm!”

                If Chat wasn’t stuck holding on for dear life, he would have complained. Man, if he had the ability to just _poof_ the perfect item for any fight!

                He heard a few ‘pings’, probably from whatever her Lucky Charm was, and then a snap.

                “Gotcha!”

                _Noooo_ …..

                With an angry growl, Chat heard Ladybug purify the akuma, and throw her Lucky Charm into the air to clean up any damage. The moment the weights were off his ankle, Chat leapt up back to sweet, sweet solid ground.

                “Yay, Ladybug!” Chloe shouted, but was more pleased that her clothes were back to normal than actual Ladybug.

                “Yay, Ladybug…” Chat echoed, in a much more sarcastic and bitter tone.

                “Hey,” Ladybug started, walking over to him. Her voice didn’t seem as cocky as he was expecting, “I appreciate your help.”

                With that, she held out her hand to help Chat up from his sitting position. He sighed, and took her hand. As much as he _hated_ to admit it, he really did respect that about her. She had every right to shove it in his face that he did all the work and she got all the credit, but she didn’t. And he could tell she _hated_ to admit her appreciation as well. Mutual kind-of-hatred.

                “Yeah, thanks.” He replied, nodding. Both of their Miraculouses started to beep, indicating their need to escape.

                “See you around,” Ladybug waved, but before she hopped out of the window, she turned around with a smirk, “ _Loser_.”

                Chat blinked, then rushed to the window as she catapulted out.

                “You know, for a second there, I almost _respected_ you! But I take it _allllll_ back now! You’re just lazy!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also this was exactly 2016 words lmaoooo #2k16


	4. Adrien's Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien sits before class, deep in thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor Ladynoir thoughts (because some people were asking, and YES the shipping square goes in the same way even in this AU) and a tiny bit of Adrienette if you squint really hard. Not much shipping really, just THOUGHTS.

 

                Adrien sat in deep thought, waiting for class to start. There was still a good ten minutes before class started, and the rest of his classmates were chatting away at their seats. Marinette was the only one who hadn’t shown up yet, to nobody’s surprise. In his mind, he was thinking about the events from the last akuma attack: the Evillistrator.

                Ladybug had shown up almost immediately after Chat left Marinette. Like, _immediately_. And plus, all the lights from the boat must have gotten her attention, right? How could she have just ignored it? Ladybug put Marinette is _real danger_ by just ignoring her duties! There’s no way she didn’t see the boat! Plus, Chat was busy with Chloe during the beginning, but Ladybug already left Chloe! She could have easily stopped the Evillistrator from getting to Marinette while she was out, and she defiantly could have stopped him once he captured Marinette! Sure, something seemed off about her, storming off like that, but having a bad day doesn’t give you an excuse to just ignore a citizen in danger. Its Ladybug’s fault Marinette could have been hurt!

                Well, no, it wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault but the akuma’s.

                He supposed he was just blaming Ladybug because it was the easy thing to do. Ladybug wouldn’t _actually_ put a citizen in danger. As strong as his rivalry was with her, she _was_ a hero, not a villain. And loathe as he was to admit it, he respected her work. There certainly was more than one occasion where he couldn’t have beaten an akuma without her.

                But he was better. Chat Noir was the coolest.

                “I’m telling you, Chat is way better!” He heard someone shout.

                _A smart person_ , he grinned.

                Adrien glanced over his shoulder, seeing Alix standing up defiantly. She seemed to be arguing with Max and Kim.

                “Come on, Ladybug is way cooler!”

                _Well screw you, too, Kim._

“Oh my gosh, guys, class is literally going to start in like five minutes are you really doing this again?” Nino laughed, not speaking loud enough for them to hear him.

                “You’re just saying that because you have a crush on her, Kim!” Alix teased, poking his arm.

                “A crush?” Adrien asked, before he could even contain it.

                “Yeah!” Alix laughed, now facing Adrien, ready to explain Kim’s embarrassing ‘secret’, “He’s only a Littlebug because he thinks she’s _cute_!”

                “I do not!” Kim shouted back, slamming the desk, “I’m on team Ladybug because she’s just _better_.”

                And just like that, they were back at it again. Adrien turned back around, deciding to ignore the whole ‘better’ comment. Instead, he focused on the ‘crush’ part.

                Who could have a crush on Ladybug? Surely she wasn’t anything near crush-worthy. She wasn’t anywhere near as cool as Chat! Adrien wasn’t exactly expecting Chat’s coolness to make Kim gay or anything, so it’s not like romance is the best defense. But still! Why would anyone have a crush on Ladybug? She was obnoxious, totally lazy, not funny, and nowhere near as strong or amazing as Chat Noir! Well, okay, she’s not _obnoxious_. She’s not lazy, either. And she’s pretty funny. And maybe she’s a little strong. And amazing.

                Okay, okay, Adrien can see why someone would have a crush on her. Out of all types of people to be rivals with, he was actually pretty grateful she was the way she was. He could have been stuck with someone who was _actually_ rude, or a blackmailer, or maybe someone who didn’t pull their weight. Out of all the people in Paris, whoever Ladybug actually was did the job right. In fact, it was kind of _fun_ to be her rival. She certainly put up a challenge, but not to the point where he was left in the dust. And she was a good guy, too, so she never cheated or anything like that. She always played fair, even if it was inconvenient. And there was one time when Adrien was already having a bad day, and she hardly insulted him like at _all_ during that fight. She’s actually… pretty great.

                But! She’s his rival! He totally hates-but-not-really Ladybug!

                And he was still upset that Marinette was in danger the other day, too. Yeah, that’s right! The ‘amazing’ Ladybug wasn’t there, was she?

                He heard a click, and saw Marinette rush in the door, relieved that she made it on time.

                With a smile, Adrien gave her a quick wave as she walked to her seat. She waved back, a grin of her own growing quickly.

                Seeing her smile brought Adrien back to reality. The safety of the citizens was all that mattered, in the end. The rivalry of Chat Noir and Ladybug was just an added bonus, but it was the civilian’s safety that really mattered. And here she was, safe as can be. Just seeing her made him feel a glowing ball of pride inside his chest. He protected wonderful people, just like her.

                And yeah, sure, Ladybug totally _sucked_ in comparison to the amazing Chat Noir, but she protected people like Marinette, too. So he’ll always give her that little bit of credit, no matter what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also i love Alix with my whole heart mind and soul because I too roller skate and I love it.


	5. Allergies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien deals with his allergies in his normal life, and superhero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also added bonus Adrienette at the end ;)

 

                _Achoo!_

“Bless you!” Marinette giggled from behind Adrien.

                It was the third time in a row he’s sneezed. He could not _believe_ the morning he’s been dealing with. The car he was usually driven in had a broken engine, and Adrien took the opportunity to walk to school. He didn’t get to do it often, but he enjoyed it when he could. It was nice to take his time and enjoy the scenery. Unfortunately, the shortest way to school took him through a park, and Mr. “I spend all my time feeding pigeons” was there. As Adrien walked by, his presence must have startled them all and they all flew up in a massive flurry of feathers.

                The very feathers that Adrien was _allergic to._

                It must have been, like, a solid hour since that happened and he was _still_ sneezing! Some of that feather dust nonsense must have gotten up his nose or something…

                “Thanks…” He sighed. It was polite of Marinette to say that after every sneeze, since he could tell Nino’s patience was running thin. Adrien was never accused of being a quiet sneezer, after all.

                “Adrien, did you need a tissue?” The teacher asked, taking a moment to pause from her lesson.

                He nodded and quickly wiped his nose clean. Hopefully ‘third times a charm’ and he’ll stop sneezing now.

                Thankfully, his sneezing slowed, but never quite stopped all the way.

                By the time lunch came around, he was pretty much done. His nose was sore and kind of runny, but at least he was done sneezing every two seconds.

                “Make sure you don’t walk through another flock of birds, Adrien!” Alya teased as she walked away, ready to eat.

                “I’ll try not…” Adrien laughed, hoping she wouldn’t jinx him. He’s got bad enough luck as is…

                He really didn’t want to walk all the way back home for lunch, since the car was still getting fixed. If he took the short way, he risked getting attacked by pigeons again. If he took the long way, he wouldn’t have much time to eat before heading back. What could he do…

                _Crash!!! Boom!!!_

Well, maybe he wouldn’t even get to eat lunch at all…

                Looking up in the sky, he saw the creator of the destruction: the akuma. From the looks of it, it was some kind of angry construction worker, or anyone else who wears those ugly neon worker clothes. Would a street-crossing person be akumatized?

                He decided to figure it out on the way to the scene, so he transformed and started to head over.

                As he ran across the rooftops to get to the akuma, he saw Ladybug zip by, all Spiderman-esque with her yoyo. Man, she was fast!

                As she swung her yoyo around another lamp-post to move forward, she knocked off some birds who were sitting on top. And, of course, were else would they fly off to than _directly_ into Chat Noir’s face?

                He tried to duck, avoiding any of them actually hitting him, but their feathers were enough to set him off the sneeze-path, especially since his nose was already weak from this morning.

                _Achoo!_

                He grumbled a few curses, and kept on running. Hopefully the fight would distract his nose.

                As reality was, however, he was sneezing quite a lot through the battle, giving Ladybug an advantage. The battle itself wasn’t too difficult, both Chat Noir and Ladybug had to use their special Miraculous powers, though. In the end, it was Ladybug who finished off the akuma, but not without a hardy help from Chat Noir. She wouldn’t admit it- he knew it- but there was _no way_ she would’ve won this without him! He took pride in that, after all. He was pretty gre-

                _Achoo!_

His self-complimenting was rudely interrupted by yet another sneeze.

                “Bless you,” Ladybug laughed, pulling back her yoyo, “You got a cold or something?”

                “No, I’m allergic to pigeon feathers…” He admitted.

                “In Paris?” She laughed. But before she could tease him anymore, her Miraculous beeped, signaling her time to leave.

                Chat Noir decided he didn’t want to risk any of his remaining Miraculous time, either, and made his way back to school. Lunch had about ten or fifteen more minutes. Nowhere near enough time to actually go to his own house.

                He made it back to the steps of the school, now back to Adrien, and his stomach started to growl loudly.

                “Adrien?” He heard a soft voice behind him, and turned around quickly.

                “Oh, hi Marinette!” Adrien smiled, hoping she didn’t hear his lion-roar of a stomach.

                “Did you not eat lunch?” She asked, answering his mental question.

                “Uh, no,” He chuckled embarrassingly, “I, uh… It’s a rule that if there’s an akuma, I have to stay in the school building for lunch. For, uh, safety, y’know?”

                It was a lie, but a very believable one. Lots of kids at the school have similar rules of ‘do not leave during an akuma’.

                “Well, the akuma is gone now,” Marinette mumbled, avoiding eye contact and wringing her hands, “And I live just down the street… If you just wanted something quick, you could… y’know, come visit and eat.”

                Adrien remembered that she lived in a bakery, and suddenly his sucky day was turning a lot less sucky.

                “Oh, could I? I don’t want to impose…”

                “Oh, no, no!” Marinette shook her head quickly, “We have plenty of food, anyway. It _is_ a bakery…”

                And with that, Adrien made his way to what is now his favorite place to eat. Maybe it was just the whole aspect of ‘everything tastes better when you are hungry’, but something told him having the presence of his friend made it even better! Also, the food itself was amazing, even if he did sneeze the entire time.


End file.
